I Want To Move On
by Cian'Perrel
Summary: Kitty remembers the way Scott used to be before the explosion, and wants to help him deal with the loss of Jean. Scott wants to move on with his life, but can't seem to find a reason to. Find out what happens when Kitty innocently tries to help.
1. Who Would Have Thought

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-men or any other Marvel characters. The only thing that is mine is the plot.

A/N: I tried to write this story so that it would flow with the actual cartoon storyline, but not interfere. Please read and review.

Dialogue in ' ' are Kitty's thoughts.

Summary: Kitty remembers the way Scott used to be before the explosion, and wants to help him deal with the lose of Jean. Scott wants to move on with his life, but can't seem to find a reason to. Find out what happens when Kitty innocently tries to help.

**I Want to Move On...**

**Chapter.1.**

**Who Would Have Thought?**

_(This chapter takes place at the start of the show, right around the time the Wolverine is saving the family from the MRDs)_

Kitty stands in the hallway of a rundown hotel in New York City, trying to build up the courage to knock on the door in front of her.

'Just knock, already; you've been standing out here for ten minutes.' she thinks to herself. 'Just knock and ask him if he wants to come with you to Genosha, and get away from all this. What's the worst that can happen? He tells you to get lost and slams the door in your face?'

'No, maybe he tries to blast you.' another voice in her head says.

'So, I can just phase through it.'

'Yeah, but he'll destroy half the building, and then the MRDs will come.'

'Come on, Scott's not stupid; he'd never do that.'

'Well, if you're so sure, then why are you still just standing here; knock already.'

'Shut-up! I'm gonna.'

She reaches forward and gently knocks on the door three times. She waits for a minute, with no reply, before repeating the process. When she gets no reply this time, she looks around, and seeing that she is alone, phases through the door.

The room is dark, except for the television, which is currently showing the 11 o'clock news, and a sliver if light coming from the partially opened bathroom door. She sees steam coming from the bathroom, and figures that Scott must have been taking a shower when she knocked.

She's about to call out his name, when the bathroom door opens, revealing Scott. He closes the light behind him, but there is still enough light provided from the television to see that he has a towel wrapped around his waist, and an almost empty bottle in his hand; she also notices that he's not wearing his glasses, but has his eyes closed shut.

He lifts the bottle to his lips, and downs the remaining contents, before letting the bottle drop to the floor. He steps up to the bed, drops his towel, and flops down, face first onto it.

Kitty is so shocked by what has just happened that she is frozen in place. She looks down at him, only feet away from her, and realizes that he's passed out drunk and naked. She notices a mark on his butt, and steps closer to try and make it out through the limited light.

'Oh, my God, Scott has a tattoo on his butt; who would have thought?' she thinks.

'Why are you looking at his butt? You should get out of here before he wakes up and sees you.' the other voice says.

'I am not looking at his butt; I just noticed the tattoo and wanted to see what it was.'

'_Right_. It's a bird; now go. Why are you still looking at it?'

'Fine; I'm leaving.'

Suddenly, Scott stirs, causing Kitty to jump back. He flips over onto his back, and Kitty covers her mouth to stifle a gasp. She can't help it, and looks down at his naked body.

'Oh my God, that's Scott's..._thing_.' she thinks.

'What are you doing? You shouldn't be staring at his _thing_; get out of here.' the other voice scolds.

'I'm not staring at his _thing_; I just got startled.'

'Okay, I'll give you the 'startled' part, but you are _so_ staring at his _thing_.'

'Okay, maybe I am _looking_ at it, but it's a natural reaction; it's not like I'm enjoying it.'

'Uh, _hello_, I'm in here too; don't try lying to me, I know you're enjoying it.'

'Shut-up, I am not.'

'Really? Then why are you still standing here, staring at it, and arguing with yourself?'

'Fine; I'm leaving.' she says as she turns to the door and starts to phase through it; but just before she's completely through, she leans back in and takes one last look.

'Pervert.' the other voice says.

'Oh, shut-up.'


	2. Stormy Nights

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-men or any other Marvel characters. The only thing that is mine is the plot.

A/N: I tried to write this story so that it would flow with the actual cartoon storyline, but not interfere. Please read and review.

Dialogue in ' ' are Kitty's thoughts.

Summary: Kitty remembers the way Scott used to be before the explosion, and wants to help him deal with the loss of Jean. Scott wants to move on with his life, but can't seem to find a reason to. Find out what happens when Kitty innocently tries to help.

**I Want to Move On...**

**Chapter.2.**

**Stormy Nights**

_(This chapter takes place between episodes 4 and 5, after Storm has returned to the team)_

Kitty walks down the hall of the recently rebuilt Xavier Institute, late one night heading to the kitchen to grab a snack. She's so busy thinking about their resent mission to Africa, and the fact that Storm is now back on the team, that she doesn't see Scott sitting at the table in the dark.

"Can't sleep, Kitty?" he asks.

She's so startled that she drops the apple she had picked out of the fruit bowl. She picks it up off the floor, and says, "Scott; you startled me."

"Sorry."

"Why are you sitting in the dark?" she asks as she sits down next to him.

He looks outside and doesn't answer. After a minute, Kitty reaches over and places a hand on his forearm. "Scott, what's wrong?"

"I just..." he says before he sighs and drops his head to look at his hands. "...I miss Jean."

"We all miss her, Scott. Don't worry, we'll find her."

"I wish I could believe that." she hears him mumble.

"Scott, you look exhausted, you should get some sleep." she says, pretending that she didn't hear him.

"I...I don't sleep that well anymore."

"Why?"

"I got so used to having someone else there, that I find it hard to fall asleep now."

"Oh." she says. "Well you could always come sleep with me."

"What?" he asks in a shocked tone, as he looks at her.

'What the hell did I just say?' she thinks. She removes her hand from his arm, and is glad they are sitting in the dark, so Scott can't see her blushing. "I didn't mean it like that. I meant you could come sleep in my room. We could get a second bed put in, and then you'd have someone else in the room with you; so you wouldn't be alone. Or I could just sleep in my recliner; I'm small enough. Or I could sleep on the floor; they say that sleeping on a hard surface is good for the back."

Scott reaches over and places a hand on top of hers, stopping her rant. "Kitty, as much as I appreciate the offer, I don't think I should sleep in your room; what if someone found out? Besides, I could never ask you to sleep in a chair or on the floor."

"Well, I could sleep in your room." she suggests.

'What the hell are you doing? Just shut-up, already.' she thinks.

"I mean, that way you wouldn't have to worry about anyone finding you in my room. Wait a minute, why does it matter if someone finds you in my room?" she asks.

"Kitty, you're a kid, and..."

"I'm almost 19, Scott." she interrupts him. "And last time I checked, that meant that I'm a legally consenting adult." she says before blushing again. "Not that there would be anything going on that would require consent, that is."

"Kitty..." he starts to say.

"No, Scott, no arguments. Let's go; I'm sleeping in your room tonight." she grabs his hand and stands up.

He stays seated as she pulls his arm. "No, you're not, Kitty."

"And who's going to stop me? You? I can just phase into your room anytime I want."

He opens his mouth to protest, but Kitty cuts him off. "You won't win this argument, Scott; you might as well save your breath."

Reluctantly, he gets up and sighs. "Fine; but you're taking the bed; I'll sleep on the floor."

They make their way silently to his room, and he locks the door once they're inside. Kitty walks over and sits on the bed, looking at him. He walks over, grabs a pillow, tosses it down on the floor at the foot of the bed, and lies down.

Kitty climbs, on all fours, to the foot of the bed, looks over the edge, and says, "Good night, Scott."

"Good night, Kitty." he replies.

She turns around and lies down. 'You are such an idiot! What were you thinking?' she thinks.

_'I know what you were thinking._' the other voice says in a sing-song tone.

'Oh, shut-up; you do not.'

'Oh, yes I do. Want me to tell you?'

'No; just leave me alone so that I can sleep.'

'You were thinking that Scott would want to sleep in the same bed with you, and that maybe something might happen.'

'Not true.'

'And that maybe you'd get a chance to see his tattoo again.'

'Shut-up.'

'And maybe his _thing_ too.'

'I'm not listening to you.'

'You know I'm right.'

'Okay, I take it back; _you_ are the idiot, not me.'

'I am you; so either way, it's you who's the idiot.'

Kitty sighs before asking, "Scott, are you still awake?"

"Yes, Kitty. What do you want?" he replies.

"Scott, just get in the bed, please. I know that when you were talking about having someone else there, you didn't just mean in the same room, but in the same bed."

"Kitty, I am _not_ going to sleep in the same bed as you."

"Oh, stop being such a baby, and get up here. I promise to shut-up and let you sleep if you do."

She can hear him mumbling to himself, before he grunts in frustration and stands up. He walks over to the other side of the bed, tosses his pillow down, and then lies down on his back. "There. Can we _please_ go to sleep now?"

*****

Kitty wakes up the next morning, and sees that she's on her side, cuddling Scott's left arm to her. She looks up at his face, and sees that he's still asleep. She releases his arm and roles over onto her other side.

'There, see, that wasn't weird, or anything.' she thinks.

'Then why do you sound disappointed?' the other voice asks.

'I thought I told you to shut-up last night.'

'Not until you admit the truth. You can start with admitting that you're a little disappointed that nothing happened last night.'

'Why would I admit that?'

'Duh, because it's true.'

'It is _so_ not true.'

'I'm in here too, remember; so if you lie to me then you're really lying to yourself.'

'Shut-up! Shut-up! Shut-up!'

Before she can continue her internal argument, she hears a knock at the door. She sits up and stifles a gasp. "Yo, Scott. You awake, man?" she hears Bobby ask.

She hears Scott mumble, "Go away, Bobby."

Bobby tries to open the door, but luckily, Scott had locked it the previous night. "Scott, I can't find Kitty. I went to her room, and she isn't there. Her bed didn't even look slept in; I think something may have happened."

'No, nothing happened, and she's disappointed.' the voice says.

'Shut-up!'

She feels a hand on her back, and looks over to see Scott sit up next to her. "It's a big mansion, Bobby; maybe you just missed her."

"I already checked everywhere else, her room was the only place I hadn't looked."

'Not true; you didn't check in here.' the voice says.

"Maybe she got up early and stepped out." Scott suggests.

"Ah, this is Kitty we're talking about here, Scott; she never gets up early, she's always sleeping in."

'What?' she thinks. 'That is _so_ not true.'

Scott's hand slides up to her shoulder and gives it a little squeeze. "I seem to recall you still hold the record for the most times being late, Bobby." There is silence from the door. "I'm sure she'll turn up sooner or later; now go away, and let me sleep."

She hears footsteps retreating down the hall, and waits a few heartbeats before turning to Scott and whispering, "Thanks."

"No problem." he replies. "Thanks for last night; I haven't slept that well since before Jean disappeared."

"No problem, Scott." she replies. "I should probably get going."

"Okay." he says as he removes his hand from her shoulder and lies back down. "Thanks, again."

She gets up and makes her way to the door. "So, I'll see you tonight, then." she says as she phases through the door.

Scott sits up in bed, but before he can answer, she's gone.

*****

She waits until she is sure the hallway is empty, before phasing through her door, running down the hall, and phasing through Scott's door.

She sees Scott already asleep in bed, and quietly walks over. She climbs under the covers and turns on her side to look at him.

"You know, Kitty, I was already asleep; you don't need to come here every night." he says.

"I know, but I want too." she says before she can stop herself. "I feel safe when I'm here with you." She turns onto her other side, putting her back to him. "I never told anyone this before, but I almost never slept alone back home. I used to sneak into the bed of my parents or my older sister. Or my dog Sparky would climb into bed with me. Or I would sleep with Pooh Bear."

"Pooh bear?" he asks.

"Yeah, I had a giant stuffed Winnie the Pooh bear that I would sleep with; the thing was bigger than me." She winces as there is a flash of lightning followed closely by a crack of thunder. "But on stormy nights like tonight, my sister used to come and hold me until I fell asleep."

She feels the bed move, and suddenly Scott wraps his right arm around her waist and pulls her back into him. At the same time, he slides his left arm underneath her neck, and folds it over her shoulders. "There; go to sleep, Kitty." he whispers, tiredly, his breath warm on the back of her neck.

'Yeah, like I'm going to fall asleep now.' she thinks.

'Why not? You aren't getting excited now, are you?' the other voice says.

'Shut-up!'

'I'm sure he can feel your heart beating a mile a minute.'

'How can he? His heart is pounding so hard I can barely feel my own.'

'His heartbeat is rather strong...'

'Yeah, and he's holding me so tightly.'

'Uh hunh...'

'And he smells so good.'

"That's true...'

'And if he would just slide his hand off my shoulder like so...'

'Yeah?'

'Hey, wait a minute; what are you doing?'

'What do you mean?'

'You're agreeing with me; you never agree with me.'

'I do when you speak the truth.'

'You're trying to mess with my head; stop it.'

'I am not messing with _our_ head. Besides I'm not the one who moved his hand from your shoulder to your breast, and I'm _definitely_ not the one who is grinding your butt into his crotch.'

She suddenly realizes that she _has_ moved his hand to her breast, and she _is_ grinding her butt into his crotch. Thankfully, Scott is sound asleep, and doesn't seem to notice. She stops herself immediately, feeling ashamed.

'Told you.' the other voice says.

'Leave me alone.' Kitty thinks.

'Pervert.'

'Oh, shut-up.' she says, but this time, she has a little smile on her face.


	3. This Kitty Has Claws

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-men or any other Marvel characters. The only thing that is mine is the plot.

A/N: I tried to write this story so that it would flow with the actual cartoon storyline, but not interfere. Please read and review.

Dialogue in ' ' are Kitty's thoughts.

Summary: Kitty remembers the way Scott used to be before the explosion, and wants to help him deal with the loss of Jean. Scott wants to move on with his life, but can't seem to find a reason to. Find out what happens when Kitty innocently tries to help.

**I Want to Move On...**

**Chapter.3.**

**This Kitty Has Claws**

_(This chapter takes place between episodes 12 and 13, after Cyclops has his encounter with Sinister)_

Kitty sneaks into Scott's room to find it empty. She has been sleeping here every night for almost a month now, and Scott has always been here when she arrived.

'Hunh, I thought Henry told him to stay in bed for a couple of days after that little tussle with Sinister. Where is he?' she thinks.

'Maybe his whole flip-out over Jean today made him decide he didn't want to be around you anymore.' the other voice replies.

'Oh, shut-up; what do you know?'

'I know that you fall asleep every night thinking about him, and the things you'd like to do to him.'

'I do not.'

'And you just _love_ the stormy nights because he holds you.'

'Shut-up!'

'And when you think he's in a deep sleep, you cuddle up against him.'

'Shut-up! Shut-up! Shut-up!'

'Fine, keep lying to yourself.'

'I'm not lying; so would you either shut-up, or help me think of where I can find him.'

'Bathroom?'

She glances over and sees the door open and the light off. 'Empty.'

'Kitchen?'

'Maybe; it can't hurt to take a look.' She phases through the floor and lands in the rec-room. 'Empty.' she thinks before heading to the kitchen. 'Not here either.' she thinks upon seeing the empty kitchen. 'You don't think he went out looking for Jean again, do you?'

"Nah; as stubborn and hard headed as he is, he respects Henry enough not to disobey doctors orders...completely.'

She's about to head back upstairs and check his room again, when she notices that someone is sitting on the bench outside, facing the lake. 'Is that him?'

She heads outside and quietly makes her way towards the bench. About halfway there, she sees that it _is_ Scott; he is slumped over, and his body is bobbing. As she gets closer, she realizes that he's crying. She stops in her tracks and is about to try and sneak away, when he turns around and sees her.

He quickly turns away, and reaches up to wipe the tears from his face. "Hey Kitty." he says.

"Ah, hey Scott. I didn't see you in bed, and got worried; so I came looking for you. Henry said you needed to stay in bed for a couple of days." she says, as she approaches the bench, but doesn't sit down.

"Yeah, I know. I just needed to get away for a while and think." He looks down at something in his hand, but covers it up quickly before Kitty can see it.

She reaches out her hand and says, "Come, Scott; let's go to bed. You can think there, or we can talk if you want."

Without saying a word, he reaches out and takes her hand, letting her lead him back into the mansion and then to his room. When they arrive, she locks the door, before leading him to the bed and helping him sit. As she makes her way around to the other side, he removes his shirt, and lies down; she climbs in, under the covers, and turns to face him.

"So, you wanna talk?" she asks.

He stares out the window in silence for a few minutes before asking, "Do you know what today was?"

"No." she replies. "It wasn't your birthday, was it? Because I remember it being in November."

"It was Jean's 25th birthday." he responds, while still staring out the window.

"Oh; I didn't realize."

"Why should you? It's not like Jean was here to celebrate it." he says. "Or like she's ever coming back." he mumbles.

She sits up and places her hand over his. "Don't talk like that, Scott, we'll find Jean; you can't give up hope."

"Kitty, it's been over a year since the explosion, and there has been absolutely no sign of her; Emma can't even find her with Cerebro. How can I keep hoping she'll come back in the face of such overwhelming evidence that she's gone?"

He shifts his hand, and she can now feel the thing that he had tried to hide from her earlier. "Scott, what's that in your hand?"

He opens his hand, and lets her take the tiny velvet box that he is holding. She opens it and sees a diamond ring inside. "Wow, Scott, it's beautiful." She looks back at him, but he is staring out the window again. "Is this..?"

"I had planned on proposing to Jean on her 25th birthday. I actually bought the ring two weeks before the explosion. Luckily, it was still at the jewelers being engraved, or I would have lost it."

She lifts the ring out of the box and reads the inscription out loud, "My heart and soul for eternity." She looks up to see a sad look on his face. "Wow, Scott, that's beautiful."

"Thanks."

She puts the ring back in the box, closes it, then reaches across him to place it on his nightstand.

"I had it all planned out." he says. She lays her head down on his chest and cuddles up against him; he hugs her. "I was going to make reservations at the fanciest French restaurant I could find; Jean always talked about wanting to eat at one. Then I was going to get Hank to teach me enough French to order our meals; I thought that would impress her. Then after a special birthday dessert, I would give her a present; nothing special, something that she might get from a friend. When she was done opening it, I would take out the ring, get down on one knee, and propose."

She looks up at him and says, "That sounds _so_ romantic, Scott; Jean would have loved it...She _will_ love it; when she gets back." She strokes his cheek. "I know I would."

"Thank you, Kitty." he says as he takes her hand and kisses the palm gently. "It's nice having someone to talk too about this stuff."

She leans in closer, bringing her face within inches of his, and runs her hand through his hair. "I'm always here for you, Scott." she says as she licks her lips, and looks directly into his glasses. "For whatever you need."

Before she realizes it, Scott pulls her to him, and their lips meet. "Mmm." she moans out loud, while thinking, 'Oh my God, he's kissing me; he's really kissing me. His lips taste _so_ good; like coffee with a hint of spice.'

'So, are you finally going to admit I was right?' the other voice asks.

'Fine; you were right. I want Scott Summers; I want him bad.'

'Finally; I'll leave you two alone now.'

Suddenly he stops kissing her and pulls back slightly, before saying, "I'm sorry, Kitty; I don't know what came over me."

"Just shut-up and kiss me again." she replies, as she climbs on top of him; straddling him.

"Kitty?"

"Fine, I'll do it myself." She leans down and captures his lips again; within seconds, he's kissing her back and wraps his arms around her. 'My God, he is _so_ hot.'

After several minutes of making out, she stops kissing him long enough to sit up, remove her tank-top, and toss it to the floor. As she leans back down to continue making out, Scott wraps his arms back around her, and starts running his hands over the soft skin on her back and through her hair. 'I can't believe I have my bare chest pressed up against his...I can't believe I actually took off my top.' she thinks. 'His hands are driving me crazy.'

She reaches back behind her and grabs one of his wrists, then slowly guides his hand down, and under the elastic waist band of her shorts, until it is on her butt. 'Hehe, his hand is on my butt.' He gently caresses it before grabbing it firmly; causing her to thrust her hips forward into him.

He pushes her onto her side, and with his one free hand, tries to slide her shorts off. She breaks their kiss and says, "Here, let me." She grabs her shorts, phases them, and yanks them off, before tossing them on the floor; she then grabs his pyjama bottoms, and does the same.

She is surprised to see that he isn't wearing any underwear, and is completely naked now, too. 'Wow, I can't believe that all this time, the only thing between his _thing_ and me was a thin layer of cotton.'

Scott starts kissing her again, and slowly rolls her onto her back, while climbing on top of her. She immediately wraps her legs around his waist, and can feel him pressed up against her. 'I have to tell him.' she thinks.

'No you don't.' the other voice says. 'Are you crazy? Telling him that now, would probably make him come to his senses and stop; is that what you want?'

'No; but if I don't tell him, he'll find out for himself in a few seconds.' She breaks the kiss, looks directly in his glasses, and says, "Scott, I'm a virgin."

He freezes, not moving a muscle. 'Way to go; you ruined it. He's probably totally freaked out now, and is trying to think of a way out of this that won't hurt your feelings.' the voice says.

'I'm sorry, but I just had to tell him.'

"Kitty, did I hear you right?" he asks.

Not able to use her voice, she just nods. 'Oh God, you were right, we're not going to do this; I messed up.'

"Do you want to stop?" he asks.

Again, not able to use her voice she just shakes her head from side to side.

"Are you sure? You want _this_ to be your first time?" he asks.

Again, she nods. 'Hunh? Is he saying what I think he's saying?' she thinks.

"Well then, I'll take it real slow, and be extra gentle; it's going to hurt at first." he says.

'Oh my God, he still wants to do it! I can't believe it!' Finally finding her voice, she says, "Okay, Scott, I trust you."

With that said Scott leans down and starts kissing her again.

*****

Kitty wakes up slowly the next morning. 'Oh, wow; that was such an awesome dream.' she thinks. She opens her eyes, and looks up to see Scott watching her. 'Okay, so it wasn't a dream.'

"Morning." he says to her.

"Ah, morning?" she replies before jumping up out of bed. 'Oh my God; I'm naked.' She tries to cover herself up while looking around for her clothes.

"I'm sorry, Scott; really sorry." she says as she locates her top and puts it on. "I shouldn't have...I didn't..." she grabs her shorts and pulls them on. "I'm so sorry; I'm gonna leave."

She turns to leave. 'Oh man; Scott probably hates me now. I can't believe I took advantage of him last night. He needed a friend to talk to, not some horny girl jumping him.'

As she reaches for the door, she feels his hand on her upper arm. She stops, and allows him to turn her to face him. "Kitty, please don't go."

She notices that he is standing there completely naked, and that causes her to hesitate for a moment before saying, "I'm really sorry, Scott; I took advantage of you last night. And now I've ruined our friendship, and you'll probably never want to see me again..."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa; slow down, there, Kitty." he says, as he tilts her head up so that he can look her in the eye. "There's nothing to be sorry about, you didn't do anything wrong; if I recall, I'm the one who kissed you first. And you did _not_ take advantage of me, anymore then I took advantage of you." He pulls her back to the bed, and sits her down next to him. "What happened last night was something that we both _wanted_, and something that we both _needed_."

"But now, when Jean comes back, she's going to think that we had an affair, and she's going to hate me..."

"Kitty, if Jean comes back, she's not going to hate you; I know her. It's been over a year since she's disappeared, and she won't hold what happened against you; she'll understand...eventually."

"But, our friendship is ruined now; we can't pretend like it never happened." she says, looking him in the eye. 'Or like it will never happen again?' she thinks, pleading.

"Our friendship is not ruined..." he says as he strokes her hair. "...it's just changed into a different kind of friendship."

"What kind?"

"Kitty, I'm not going to lie to you, or sugar-coat it, I care too much for you to do that. But I love Jean; and if we ever find her, I intend to be with her." He strokes her face with his hand. "But I'd be lying if I said that last night meant nothing to me." He takes her hands in his and continues, "Kitty, we may never find Jean..."

"Scott, don't say that; we'll find her." she interrupts him.

"Kitty, please, just listen to me" When he sees her nod, he continues, "We may never find Jean, and I may be ready to move on and start a new relationship someday; but that day hasn't arrived yet." He looks her in the eye and says, "Last night was incredible; and I would hate for it to turn into a _one-night stand_ kind of thing. Do you get what I'm trying to say?"

"Are you saying you want to be...fuck-buddies?" she finishes with a whisper. 'Please say yes.' she thinks.

He blushes, and says, "I wouldn't have called it that...I was thinking more along the lines of _friends with benefits_; that is, if that's something you want?"

Now it was her turn to blush. "Yeah, I'd like that, Scott." she replies.

He smiles at her, something he doesn't do enough of anymore; the smile that she only ever sees when they're alone. "Me too." His smile disappears just as quickly as it appeared. "But we can't let the others know about this; I don't think they would understand."

"Okay." she replies; then a sudden thought makes her gasp. "What about Emma? She might be able to read our minds."

"Don't worry about Emma. This may sound a little harsh, but she probably would never even consider you to be someone I would sleep with; so she won't even bother to look. The shields you learned from the Professor and Jean should be enough to keep it secret; as long as you don't go around projecting thoughts about it. Luckily for us, I've been around Jean and the Professor longer then you have, and the head trauma I suffered as a kid, makes it damn near impossible for telepaths to see anything I don't want them to see."

'That _was_ kind of harsh; why wouldn't it be possible to believe that Scott and I would have sex?' she thinks.

Scott sees the look on her face, and realizes what she's thinking. "Hey, Kitty; let Emma think whatever she wants. If she's too stuck up to see how amazing you are, and how I would have to be blind not to see how beautiful you are, then that's her problem." He leans in and gives her a delicate kiss on the lips.

'Wow, he actually thinks I'm beautiful.' she thinks, smiling at him.

"Now...you should probably go wash up, you have a Danger Room session soon; and you probably shouldn't smell of me around Logan, or he'll know something is up."

"That makes sense." she says as she stands up. She looks down at him and asks, "Care to join me?"

"Well, a nice hot shower, does sound good, right about now; I'd love too." he replies, as he stands up next to her, and takes her hand. "Especially since I need to wash all these scratches I have now."

Kitty finally notices several places where he seems to have been scratched by human nails; nothing too deep, but definite scratches. "Oops, sorry."

"I didn't think this Kitty had claws." he says with a crooked smile.

"_Meow_." she says in as sexy a voice as she can muster.

She's out of her clothes before they even get to the bathroom. Scott starts the water running, and the two of them step in.


	4. I Haven't Been Able to Think Straight

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-men or any other Marvel characters. The only thing that is mine is the plot.

A/N: I tried to write this story so that it would flow with the actual cartoon storyline, but not interfere. Please read and review.

Dialogue in ' ' are Kitty's thoughts.

Summary: Kitty remembers the way Scott used to be before the explosion, and wants to help him deal with the loss of Jean. Scott wants to move on with his life, but can't seem to find a reason to. Find out what happens when Kitty innocently tries to help.

**I Want to Move On...**

**Chapter.4.**

**I Haven't Been Able to Think Straight**

_(This chapter takes place after episode 13, and runs up too and including episode 20)_

Kitty was a little surprised, but also a little relieved, when her and Scott didn't turn into a couple of sex maniacs every time they were together. She loved sex with Scott, each time was more incredible then the previous time; but she also loved that when they did have sex, it felt like it was the _right thing_ to do, and not simply _something_ to do.

Most nights they just slept in the same bed, like before they had had sex; sure they kissed each other good night, but didn't go further than that. The nights they did have sex, were usually nights after a stressful day, or after a mission. And today had been _one_ stressful mission.

Magneto's forces had assaulted all the MRD facilities simultaneously, and freed countless mutants to join his cause. Then a mutant, who had turned out to be a kid, had nearly wrecked New York City single-handedly. Kitty had been knocked out in an attempt to stop her, and then Rogue had stolen her powers. She had come too in Scott's arms.

After returning home and getting the girl settled into a room of her own, Kitty takes a shower and changes into her sleeping attire. As usual, she checks to make sure that the hallway is empty before sneaking into Scott's room.

He is standing by the window, looking out over the grounds. "Hey Scott." she says as she walks over and stands next to him.

"Hey Kitty." he replies quietly.

"What'cha doin'?" she asks, taking his hand in hers.

"Just thinking about everything that happened today." he says, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

"Yeah, today was definitely one for the record books." she reaches up with her free hand and rubs the side of her head. "Rogue really packs a wallop when she steals your powers."

Scott turns to her with a look of concern on his face. "Are you feeling okay, Kitty? Maybe you should have Hank take a look at you."

She giggles at how nervous he sounds. "I'm fine, Scott. I was just remembering the feeling when I woke up; light-headed, with butterflies in my stomach." she stands on her tip-toes and gives him a quick kiss. "Or maybe that was because I woke up in your arms."

He pulls her into a hug. "Cute, Kitty, cute. Get me nervous thinking that you might be hurt, and then embarrass me with a comment like that." he kisses the top of her head, and whispers into her hair, "Just be more careful from now on; okay?"

"I'll try, Scott; but knowing that I may get to wake up in your big, strong arms again, might make it hard." she teases.

He pushes her to arms length, and says, "Kitty, please; promise me that you'll be more careful."

"Sure thing, Scott; I promise I'll be more careful from now on." she says, shocked by his sudden outburst of emotion.

He pulls her back into a hug, and whispers, "Good."

'Wow; Scott seems really freaked. What's going on?' she thinks. 'It's not like I've never been hurt before.'

'Maybe his feelings for you have changed?' the other voice says.

'No way. He made it very clear to me that he loves Jean, and that he wants to be with her.'

'He loves her, but maybe he's not _in love_ with her; maybe, he's _in love_ with you?'

'No, he isn't; is he?' she looks up at him and he smiles at her; a smile that she only ever sees when they're alone. 'Could he be?'

*****

The next morning, after a night of incredible sex, Kitty wakes up with Scott spooning her. 'Mmm, I could _so_ get used to waking up like this every day.' she thinks. She stays in that position for several minutes, until she feels Scott starting to wake up. "Morning, Scott." she says as she turns around and kisses him.

"Morning, Kitty." he replies.

'Okay, so here goes nothing.' she thinks, taking a deep breath. "Scott, I was wondering if maybe we could talk."

"Sure thing, Kitty. What do you want to talk about?"

Just as she opens her mouth to reply, an alarm sounds, letting them know that they are needed in the war room. "Maybe later, then." she says, as they get out of bed.

*****

_Later_ turned into the next day, and then the day after that; until another two weeks had passed.

'Okay, I'm going to do it tonight.' she thinks as she makes her way to Scott's room.

'No you won't; you'll chicken out again.' the other voice says.

'I will not, you'll see; I'm going to walk in there and tell him that we need to talk.' As she phases through his door, she gets ready to speak, but is stunned silent by the scene before her.

The room has lit candles everywhere, and Scott is standing by a table with two chairs, wearing a suit, and holding a bouquet of roses.

When she finally finds her voice, the only sound she makes is, "Ahhh..."

Scott walks up to her and holds out the roses for her. "Happy birthday, Kitty." he says.

She takes the roses, smells them, then asks, "Scott, didn't we already celebrate my birthday earlier...with everybody else?"

He smiles that smile again, and says, "Yes we did, but I didn't get to celebrate it with you, like I wanted too; so I'll just have to settle for this." He gestures to the room.

She smiles back and says, "Thank you."

He extends his hand to her, and she takes it. He then leads her over to the table, and pulls a chair out for her to sit in. He sits down, and takes the roses from her; placing them in a vase of water already sitting on the table.

Kitty looks at the table and sees small bowls of fruit and a pot sitting over a tiny blue flame. She is about to ask about the pot when Scott says, "I know we already had supper and your birthday cake earlier, but I figured we'd both still have room for a little dessert; so..." he lifts the lid of the pot, revealing melted chocolate. "I thought a little chocolate fondue would be nice."

"Wow." she says. 'I can't believe he did all this for me; he's so sweet.'

After he shows her how to properly use the tiny forks to dip the fruit into the chocolate, they sit back and enjoy.

As she reaches for a strawberry, Scott stops her. He takes the strawberry she was about to take, and holding it by the stem, dips it in the chocolate, before pulling it out and letting the chocolate harden slightly. He then leans forward and offers it to her. She leans forward and bites into it. 'Oh my God; it's like heaven in my mouth.' she thinks.

Scott takes the remaining piece of strawberry, and eats it.

She watches him, and thinks, 'Okay, Scott is acting seriously weird tonight. No one has ever done anything like this for me before.'

'You know why I think he's doing it.' the other voice says.

'Can it be, though?'

'There's only one way to find out; talk to him.'

She smiles at Scott. 'After; I don't want to ruin this.'

They eat for a few more minutes, until Kitty leans back on her chair and says, "Mmm...that was the most amazing thing I have ever eaten. I didn't even know we had a fondue set."

Scott bushes slightly and says, "Actually, we didn't; I picked this up yesterday. I thought you might like it."

"Well you were right; I loved it, thank you." She reaches across the table to place her hand in his.

He gives her hand a squeeze, and stands up. He walks over to the mantle over his fireplace, and turns on the radio; soft music fills the room. He turns back to her, extends his hand, and asks, "May I have this dance?"

She takes his hand and stands up, but suddenly realizes that while he's all dressed up, she's standing there in a tank-top and boxers. "Ah, Scott, I'm a little under-dressed for dancing."

"Nonsense; you look beautiful."

"Heh, I'm dressed for bed...and I mean sleeping; not the fun kind." she says with a giggle.

Scott takes her hand in his, wraps his other arm around her waist, and pulls her to him, then starts swaying to the music. "Kitty, you don't need to be dressed up to look beautiful; you look beautiful all the time. Whether you just woke up, came out of the shower, had an intense workout in the danger room...or an intense workout in my room; you always look beautiful." She smiles as she rests her head on his chest, as he guides her around the room in their dance. "You even look beautiful when you're sleeping; and believe me, I've watched you sleeping enough to know." he adds with a whisper.

'He watches me when I sleep; that's kind of romantic.' she thinks as she hugs him closer, listening to his heart beat. 'Wow, his heart is beating so fast.'

They dance for a little while longer, and eventually Scott pulls her over to the window. As she looks out over the moonlit grounds, Scott hugs her from behind, and she snuggles back against him. Suddenly, she is distracted from her reverie, by a tiny rectangular wrapped box being presented to her. She looks at the present, then back up at Scott, and asks, "What is this?"

"Your _real_ birthday present; open it." he replies, handing her the gift.

"But you already got me a present; the journal." she says.

"I had to give you something in front of everyone else, I couldn't give you this, or everyone..."

"...would know something is going on." she finishes for him. She turns back to the present, and slowly unwraps it, revealing a velvet box; like the ones that usually have jewelery in them. She flips open the lid and gasps when she sees a gold bracelet with alternating diamonds and sapphires inlaid along the whole length. "Oh my God; its beautiful." she says, then adds, "You shouldn't have; it's too much."

She closes the lid and tries to hand it back, but her closes her hand around the box, and pushes it to her. "Kitty, I want you to have it. Besides, I had it engraved and can't return it, even if I wanted too."

She opens the box, and flips the bracelet over to read the inscription. 'To Kitty, with love.' she reads to herself.

She turns back to Scott, and he reaches for the bracelet, and then puts it on her right wrist. She takes one more look at it, wraps her arms around his neck, and pulls him into a passionate kiss.

He places his hands on either side of her hips and slowly lifts her off the floor. He keeps lifting her until she can no longer hold the kiss. He smiles at her, hovering over his head; she wrinkles her nose at him, and says, "Well this is a new way to sweep a girl off her feet."

He slowly lowers her, capturing her lips on the way down. When they finally break their kiss, Kitty looks at him with a mischievous glint in her eye, and says, "You may know how to sweep a girl off her feet, but I give new meaning to knocking your pants off." She grabs his pants and phases them off.

Scott looks at her standing there, holding his pants, and says, "Oh, so you wanna play, hunh? Okay, let's play."

He reaches for her, but she runs away, giggling. "You gotta catch me first." she says.

He starts to chase her around the room, until she trips on the bed as she tries to run over it. She flips onto her back, only to have him pin her to the bed. "Gotcha." he says, playfully.

"Okay, you caught me; but what are you going to _do_ with me?" she says, suggestively while biting her lower lip.

"Oh I have plenty of ideas of what I'd like to do with you..." he leans in until his face is millimeters from hers, "...and too you." He starts kissing her all over her face. "Why... don't... we... see... how... many... of... them... we... can... go... through... tonight?" he accompanies every word with a kiss to a different spot on her face.

"Mmm..._that_ sounds like a wonderful idea." she says, melting more with each kiss.

*****

Kitty wakes up the next morning, still exhausted from a night of wild sex, but with a smile from ear to ear. She looks at Scott, who is still asleep, and notices a smile on his lips.

'Wow, last night was incredible.' she thinks as she looks at her wrist and twirls the bracelet. She reads the inscription again. 'To Kitty, with love.' She looks back at Scott. 'Love; does he mean friend-love, or love-love?'

'The only way to find out is to ask.' the other voice says.

'I know; and I'm going to talk to him as soon as he wakes up.'

Almost as if on cue, Scott starts to stir, and is awake within moments. He smiles at her when he sees her looking at him. "Morning, Kitty."

"Morning, Scott." she says as she leans in to kiss him.

When she leans back, he notices that the smile on her face is gone, and asks, "What's wrong?"

"Scott, I think we need to talk." she replies.

He sits up quickly, and takes her hands in his. "Is everything okay, Kitty?"

She sits up, and turns slightly so she can look him in the face when she talks. "Yes, Scott, everything is _incredible_...and that's the problem; I'm confused."

"About what?"

She looks down at her hands sitting in his and says, "Us, Scott; I'm confused about what we are now."

"Kitty..." he starts to say, but she interrupts him.

"I know we said that we were just going to be _friends with benefits_ and at first that was it was; but lately, I feel like things have changed, and I'm confused as to what that means." She looks him in the eye and says, "Scott, I think I love you. I've never been in love before, so I have nothing to compare it too; but I just know that I care about you more than I've ever cared for anyone else in my life." Looking back down at her hands, she continues, "Scott, I don't know how you feel about any of this, and I would like to know, but only when you're ready to talk about it; not right after I just drop this on you."

Before he can even reply, she gets up and phases through the wall into the hallway. Once in her room, she makes sure the door is locked before crawling under the covers on her bed and crying into the pillow.

'I can't believe you just told him that you love him, and didn't ask him if he loves you back; that wasn't part of the plan.' the other voice says.

'I know, I know. I started talking and nothing came out like I had rehearsed it, then before I knew it, I told him that I love him. After that, I improvised so I could get the heck out of there before I made an even bigger fool of myself.'

'Well, it's not _entirely_ bad; now he knows how you feel, and you gave him time and space to think about it. This might actually be better. Scott's not exactly known for being able to express his emotions; so maybe time to think is just what he'll need.'

'Or, he'll be totally freaked out by it, and distance himself from me entirely. God, I'm such an idiot.'

Kitty continues to cry until exhaustion makes her fall asleep.

*****

Kitty avoids Scott for the next two days, actually sleeping in her own bed for the first time in almost three months.

The day of the Juggernaut attack, Rogue and her had taken Tildie shopping, so they missed the fight; but when they arrive back out the mansion, and find out that Scott and Logan have been injured, she hurries down to the infirmary.

Just as she gets there, Logan comes out. "I'm fine, Hank; healing factor took care of everything." he yells over his shoulder, while pulling out a cigar. When he sees her standing there, he says, "Hey, half-pint; we coulda used you an' stripes today."

"Sorry. Tildie needed some new clothes; she's already growing out of the stuff she has. Is Scott okay?" she asks, then when she realizes how odd her voice sounds, she adds, "I heard that the two of you got hurt."

Wolverine looks at her closely, before saying, "He'll be fine; just got knocked out. Hank an' Frost are with him now; he should be up an' about in no time."

"Oh, well that's good news." she says turning around. "I guess I'll go help Tildie put everything away, then."

Before Logan can say anything, she phases through the wall and disappears.

She heads to Scott's room, and sits on his bed. 'Why is Frost with him? She's not a doctor; Hank can handle it himself.' she thinks. She picks up Scott's pillow and hugs it, breathing in his scent.

'Maybe she's taking the opportunity to dig around in his mind; she might find out about you two.' the other voice says.

'Good. Then maybe she can tell me about it, 'cause Scott doesn't seem to be talking to me anytime soon.'

'It's only been two days; he may need more time.'

'Are you sure it's only been two days? It feels like two _weeks_ since I woke up in his arms.'

'Yes, it's only been two days. And how would you know he hasn't tried talking to you? You've been avoiding him the entire time.'

'Okay, I have been avoiding him, but that's because I'm afraid of what he might say.' She takes another deep breath of his pillow. 'What if he tells me that he doesn't love me? What if he says that we have to stop what we've been doing? I don't think I could take it...just thinking about it hurts so much.' She starts to cry into his pillow.

She doesn't know how long she sits there, but when she hears footsteps in the hall, she realizes that Scott is awake and heading to his room. Unable to face him just yet, she tosses his pillow down and jumps at the wall, phasing into an empty bedroom.

She presses her ear to the wall, and hears Scott open the door, then a lot of shuffling around, as well as drawers being opened and closed. After several minutes, she hears him close the door as he leaves.

She phases back into his room, and runs to the door. She hears voices in the hall; one's is Scott's and the other is Emma's.

"Scott, where are you going?" Emma asks.

"I don't know; just away from here." Scott replies.

"You can't abandon us; we need you."

"You're all better off."

"I know this isn't what you want, Scott."

"No, it isn't; you're right, okay. Look, I want to move on with my life, I want to be an X-Man; but Jean is all I think about, and now my friends are getting hurt because of me."

"Let me help you."

"Forget it."

"What if I told you that I could _erase_ Jean from your memories?"

"Completely?"

"If that's what you want."

"Then what? I end up like Logan; haunted by the things I can't remember?"

"No; I wouldn't do that to you. Scott, if the choice is leaving us, or letting go of Jean; then let me try."

Kitty listens, but doesn't hear any more voices for a few moments. She is about to phase her head through the door and peak when she hears Scott say, "I'll think about it." She then hears him start to walk back to his room.

She freezes in place for a moment, not sure what to do. As she sees the handle start to turn, she panics and hides in his bathroom.

Scott comes in, closing the door behind him, and tosses his bag onto the bed. He stands in the middle of the room for a few moments before saying, "You can come out now, Kitty; I know you're there."

Tentatively, she steps out into the room. He turns to face her, and she asks, "How did you know I was here?"

"I smelled you; you're the only one in the mansion who uses a mango scented shampoo." he replies.

"I thought Logan was the one with the enhanced senses?" she says, trying to break the tension.

"I could say the same thing about you; I know you heard my conversation with Emma." he replies.

"Oh yeah, that." She starts to shift from one foot to the other. "Look, Scott, I don't usually agree with Frost, but I don't think you should leave either. Now this whole erasing Jean thing..."

"I'm going to do it."

"But Scott..." she starts to say, but he raises his hand to silence her.

"I'm doing it for _us_ Kitty." he says as he takes a step closer to her. "Ever since you told me that you loved me, I haven't been able to think straight. When I try to think about you, and more specifically, us; Jean keeps coming up into my thoughts."

He walks over to her and takes her hands in his. "I meant it when I told Emma that I want to move on; but until I know what really happened to Jean, or if she's still out there, I don't think I can. That's why I need to do this; because otherwise, I'm not being fair to you, and I can never be the man you deserve."

He tilts her head up until she's looking him right in the eye. "I want to move on, Katherine Pryde, and I want to do it with you; because I love you."

Before she can even begin to process what he just said, he captures her lips in a passionate kiss. Her shock wears off quickly, and she return the kiss with just as much passion.

'Oh my God, he said he loves me.' she thinks.

'I told you.' the other voice says.

'I'm sorry I ever doubted you. I'll always listen to you from now on.'

When he pulls away, she can see a smile on his face, and her ear to ear grin reflected in his glasses. "I love you too, Scott."

He strokes the side of her face, brushing a few stray strands of hair out of the way. She takes his hand, then pulls him to the bed, where she turns to face him, and says, "Make love to me, Scott."

He reaches forward to pull her into another passionate kiss, as his hands start to remove her clothing.

**THE END**


End file.
